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Howard County Police Officer awarded
Medal of Honor
Department honors Trodden for rescuing
an injured colleague held by a suspect
By Melissa Harris
sun reporter
April 13, 2007
Howard County police this week awarded Officer Raymond Trodden
the department's highest honor for shooting a suspect as he
dragged another officer from a sport utility vehicle for several
hundred feet.
The injured officer,
Pfc. Daniel
Besseck, who suffered
a herniated disk in
his neck and lower back and nerve damage in the July
2006 confrontation, received the Purple Heart during the
Police Department's annual awards ceremony Wednesday in
the County Council chambers in
Ellicott City.
"He was trying to
kill me,"
Besseck said
during a video, in which he and Trodden
described their efforts to arrest Robert Michael
Brown of Frederick, who police said was naked
from the waist down and had a crack pipe in his
Hyundai
SUV.
Besseck
thanked the department for its support
during his recuperation. Brown survived
the gunshot wound and is scheduled for
trial in Howard County Circuit Court in
June.
Trodden earned the Medal of
Honor, given for "the highest
level of courage" in
life-threatening situations.
Police Officer David
Aronovic received
the first-year service
award, most notably for
discovering more than
430 pounds of marijuana
in the back of a Jeep
Cherokee after pulling
over a driver in June
2006 for having a
suspended vehicle
registration.
During his first
eight months on
the job,
Aronovic
made 69 arrests.
Pfc.
Andrew
Lloyd
received
the
Police
Officer
of the
Year
award
for
"impressively
consistent"
results
month
after
month,
according
to the
write-up
in the
event's
program.
Lloyd,
who grew
up in
Laurel
and
lives in
Carroll
County,
received
18
memorandums
of
recognition
during
2006.
"Heroism is a theme you'll hear tonight," Police Chief William J. McMahon said during his opening remarks. "But going about doing your job day-in and day-out without fanfare in newspaper publications is equally heroic."
Michael Baxter earned top honors among the auxiliary force, composed of volunteers who direct traffic, mark abandoned cars for towing and assist stranded motorists, among other duties.
The department recognized Baxter for creating a Survival Spanish for Auxiliary Officers guide.
"We needed some phrases specifically tailored to auxiliary officers, such as information about towing, that officers normally wouldn't need," he said.
Other top honorees included: Kenneth Drummond, Explorer of the Year; Cindy Saver, Animal Control Volunteer of the Year; Maureen Meister, Telecommunicator of the Year; Corp. Alan Shaffer, Outstanding Community Service Award; and Christopher McNamara, Civilian Employee of the Year.
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